Picker stick returning spring



March 27, 1956 ROY ET AL 2,739,621

PICKER STICK RETURNING SPRING Filed Oct. 23, 1952 Unite States Patent 2,739,621 PICKER STICK RETURNING SPRING Hugh Roy, Havel-hill, and Donat Lecourt, Lowell, Mass. Application October 23, 1952, Serial No. 316,358 2 Claims. (Cl. 139-149) This invention has reference to the picker motion for looms used in textile weaving. In this class of looms there is a stationary frame which usually supports a beam for a warp at what we will call the back of the loom and a breast beam over which the woven cloth passes after the filling threads have been passed through the shed made in the warp threads by harnesses all in a well known manner in the weaving industry.

There is also a lay which is supported by swords both carried by a rocker shaft which is given a forward and back motion by well known devices such as a crank shaft connected to the top of the lay by connecting rods or pitmans.

There are also picker sticks one at each side, each pivoted near its bottom to the lay, near the bottom of the lay, each stick being so pivoted that its top or long arm engages a picker near the top of the lay at a position near the end of the long arm and also having at the bottom, a short arm extending down from the pivot.

There are a number of well known devices to move the picker stick and to drive the top arm which moves with it a picker to engage the shuttle, the picker stick motion being laterally or from side to side of the'lootn. Such a picking device drives the long arm and the picker inward and then releases them whereupon a picker stick returning spring, usually of the tension type, connected to the bottom or short arm of the picker stick, returns the top of the stick and the picker to their outside or normal position by pulling on the short arm.

Our invention is the provision of a coiled compression spring which takes the place of the tension spring and includes a pulling member which extends through the spring and which at its outer end engages the bottom end of the short arm of the picker stick, and which carries a stop guide at its inner end.

This compression spring and a part of the pulling member are enclosed in a guide and protecting compression spring tube which is provided with a plug or closure at the inner end and an outer or pulling member guide which serves also as a partial closure at its outer end. This pulling member or outer guide has a center-bearing hole through which the pulling member passes and is connected to the end of the short arm of the picker stick.

The compression spring extends inside its tube around the pulling member between the stop guide and the outer guide of the tube, whereby when the picker motion has pulled the top of the picker stick inward thus having compressed the spring and has then let go, that spring is released and returns the picker stick to its outer position ready for the next pick.

The tubular spring casings of this invention are substantially sealed and are each mounted by a slidably adjustable double clamp in parallelism with, and at a spaced distance below the rocker shaft. Thus the return spring and cushioning mechanism oscillates with the rocker shaft and the picker stick, while serving to return the latter.

The casing may be moved axially in the clamp and the clamp moved axially on the rocker shaft to adjust the VICE 2 compression spring and it is unnecessary to disassemble the casing to secure such adjustment.

We find that a compression spring in the place of a tension spring will last much longer andparticularly if we place a small amount of lubricating oil in the tube and also .if the stop guide of the pulling member fits the inside of the tube and the pulling member itself fits the bearing hole in the outer guide, both with smooth running fits.

The stop guide of the pulling member preferably is nearer the inner than the outer end of the tube and serves as a piston head to compress-the air at the outer endand to have an air cushion at the inner end of the tube.

With such a construction, the air in the tube is somewhat compressed and released at each motion of the picker stick and this helps to take up the vibration so well known and so undesirable in most looms and also to cushion and soften the impact of a picker roller against a picker shoe.

This pneumatic cushioning and the use of a compression spring in a guide and .protecting spring tube which tube can contain oil to oil the bearings and other parts in the tube and keeps them oiled, and the reduction of vibration which helps to reduce crystallization of the spring and other metal parts prolong the life of all the parts and especially those in the tube, while those outside the tube are easily replaced.

Actual tests show that one of our devices will wear for at least twelve months while the usual life of a tension spring is one month.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of certain parts of a loom showing the floor, part of the frame and the lay and the picker, picker stick and part of the picker stick driving mechanism with our picker stick returning spring device in place. i

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view as on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1 showing the connection between a rocker shaft and our compression spring and its compression spring tube.

Fig. 3 is a somewhat enlarged detail view of our spring, tube and pulling member with one construction of its connections to the picker stick.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing another con- 1 construction of the connections shown in Fig. 4 to the picker stick.

Fig. 6 is a cross sectional view of a picker stick with the-U clamp used in every case and with the connections.

to the picker stick shown in Fig. 3.

In thedrawings E represents the stationary frame of a typical loom resting on floor X with a lay H carried by swords W both lay and swords supported by and movable with-a rocker shaft T.

Lay H carries the picker P, stick G, picker moving devices crank land link 2, clamp C, spring S, its tube F and all the parts shown in Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6.

G is a picker stick pivoted at 19with a short arm 20 at the bottom end, a long arm 21 at the top, the free end 22 of which is shown as engaging and carrying a picker P which is slidable along a picker rod 23 extending from side to side nearthe top of lay H in a well known manner.

At the bottom of short arm 20 there is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 what we, will calla cradle M which is of curved shape and extends down backunder the bottom of arm 20 with one end of cradle M extending inward so that a strap of fiat flexible member L will conform with its curve and be protected as .apicker stick is moved laterally between the full and dotted line positions in Fig. l.

As shown, the cradle M and strap L are held together and onto the bottom 20 of picker stick I by the U-shaped stick clamp U having legs 28, 28 which pass around picker stick G through holes 80 in cradle M, 81 in strap L and 8, 8, in a flat metal keeper 9 as shown in Fig. 6.

F represents a guide and protecting spring tube which is supported from the rocker shaft T by means of a clamp C which is shown in Fig. 2 as formed of two parts 34 and 35, there being on the adjoining sides the arcuate faces 30 and 31 which extend around rocker shaft T and faces 32, 33 which extend around tube F.

Arcuate faces 32, 33, 34 and 35 are semicircular and each opposite pair thereof encircles the rock shaft T or the tubular casing F to detachably position the same in parallelism and at a spaced distance apart. Tube F is thus longitudinally aligned at all times with the cradle M at the bottom of the picker stick and with the usual cut out at the base of frame E whereby a rod R may be in straight line connection with cradle M and still permit oscillation of the entire lay assembly.

By means of a bolt N with a head 40 and a nut 41 this clamp C can be moved along shaft '1 to adjust the guide and protecting spring tube F with the outer guide B. Thereby, a greater or less amount of compression can quickly be given to spring S if desired.

As shown in Figs. 1 and '3 the pulling member R is shown as a rod with a hook 42 at its outer end and passing through the bearing hole 43 in outer guide B.

Tube F is closed at its outer end 46 by the outer guide or plug B in which is the pulling rod bearing 43 and is closed and sealed at its inner end 47 by a closure or plug A.

Plug B is shown as driven into the outer end 46 of tube F, such end being shown as upset although it might be spot welded or screwed into place. 7

At the inner end of the guide and protecting spring tube F is the closure member or plug A which is preferably held detachably in place by screws 66, 66.

On the inner end of pulling rod R is a stop member K which is shown as threaded and held in place by threaded nuts 44 and 45, and this stop K preferably is formed with a close running fit inside of tube F and the bearing hole 43 through outer guide B is of a size so that the pulling member rod R will pass through it also with a smooth, running fit.

The stop member K, closure plug A and the cylindrical wall of tube F define a substantially air sealed chamber 90 in which the air is expanded and compressed with each movement of rod R, the increasing resistance of the air during compression tending to absorb the impact caused by expansion of spring S on the return stroke in the manner of an air cushion.

indicates oil that is preferably a lubricating oil of a depth which is not likely to be forced out through the bearing hole 43 in guide B but will be agitated by spring S, saturated at every pick 'so that the spring and the rod or pulling member are constantly lubricated. V is an oil hole which can always be kept at the top of tube F by turning tube F in clamp C.

In Figs. 1 and 3 pulling rod R is shown as ending ina hook 42 which is hooked through a hole in a flexible member L shown as a fiat strap which passes around cradle M which is pierced by holes 80 through which the legs 28 of clamp C pass. Member L, as well as cradle M, are both removably fixed in place by nuts 29, and there are holes 81 through member L which register with holes 89 in cradle M and 8, 8 in keeper 9.

In Fig. 4 is shown a modified construction where the rod such as R with its book 42, strap L and cradle M are replaced by a flexible wire rope 50 which carries at its inside end a stop 51 held in place by screws 52 inside of a tube F. Its outer end 53 passes through a plug D and a metal extension 57 at the free end of which is a nipple 54 with a hole 58 there being at its outer side a cup 67 in which is a rounded stop 56 held in placeas by a screw 59. This extension 57 is shown as held in place on rope 50 by a U clamp U with legs 28, and nuts 29 which pass through holes 82 in extension 57. In this construction there is no strap L and no keeper such as 9 is needed as nuts 29, 29 can bear directly against extension 57.

D is an outer guide plug like B with a bearing hole 63 fora guide tube 64 welded at 65 to flexible member 50 in position to slide back and forth through hole 63 with a smooth running fit when the compression spring S, between guide plug D and stop guide 51 is compressed by the picker motion on stick G.

The inside end of tube F is closed by a closure or plug A shown as held in place by screws 66, 66 and plug D is shown as driven in and the metal of end 46 of tube F is upset to hold it in place as in the tube F shown in Fig. 4.

I claim: 1

l. A return spring device for use with the picker stickv of a loom, said device comprising an elongated, hollow cylindrical tube; an imperforate closure member sealing one end of said tube; an axially bored closure plug at the other end of said tube; a rigid elongated rod closely fitting but slidable in said axial bore and extending along the axis of said tube, an enlarged stop guide at the end of the rod within said tube, said guide closely fitting within said tube to form a substantially air sealed chamber therein; a compression spring entirely enclosed within said tube,

said spring encircling said rod between the closure plug and the stop guide and continually urging said stop guide toward the closure member to compress the air entrapped therebetween and a double clamp, having a pair of semicircular faces adapted to grip the rock shaft of a loom and a second pair of semicircular faces adapted to grip the exterior of said tube, said clamp being arranged to adjust the pressure of said spring while said chamber remains substantially air sealed.

2. In a loom having a laterally movable picker stick carried by a lay assembly, said lay assembly being longitudinally oscillatableon a rocker shaft, the combination of a clamp having two pairs of spaced apart semicircular faces, one pair of said faces being adapted to detachably grip said rocker shaft and the second pair of said faces I being parallel thereto and adapted to detachably grip a hollow tubular casing; a hollow tubular casing gripped in said second pair of faces to extend parallel to said rocker shaft at a spaced distance therebelow, said tubular casing entirelyenclosing a compression spring and having an axial bore in one end thereof and connecting means, slid-. ably fitting said axial bore and joining the lower end of said picker stick to said compression spring, the relative position of said casing in said clamp and said clamp on said shaft controlling the pressure exerted by said spring on said picker stick.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,540,673 Huiferd Feb. 6.11951 

